Skip to Main Content
How would you get rid of outdated beliefs about clean diesel technology?
Challenge Type: business
See more like this check out our active challenges
$1,000
top 10
45
submissions
DONE
101 months ago

In the 1970s and 80s, diesel passenger cars had a bad reputation because they were loud, smelly, underpowered and plagued with failures. Unfortunately, this public perception of diesel technology has persisted and is still unfairly influenced by these outdated beliefs.

Modern technological advancements, however, have drastically changed diesel technology for the better. The new technology, now called “clean diesel” creates 25% less CO2, 30% better fuel economy and 50% more torque as compared to its gasoline powered counterpart. Clean diesels do, however, come with an initial price premium and usually a higher price for diesel at the pump. However, numerous studies done by the University of Michigan Transportation Institute have shown you end up saving anywhere from $2,000-$7,000 by owning a clean diesel vehicle after just 3 years.

The old stereotypes and price premiums have made it difficult to get the general public’s interest in clean diesels even though the data being generated is overwhelmingly positive. Clean diesels need to be rebranded, and we need your help to correct the inaccurate perceptions and bring the clean diesel to the forefront of the general consumer’s mind when considering their next new vehicle purchase.

Deliverables

/!\ ALERT /!\ Do not propose commercials. We want to target the media for influencing. You should not focus on directly marketing to consumers. No commercials. /!\ ALERT /!\

1) Propose a marketing campaign to create media member interest in the many benefits of clean diesel.

- What specific messages should we use?

- What types of media (TV, live events, social media, print, etc.) would be best to target? Remember, we want to convince media members that clean diesel is interesting and worth reporting.

- Why do you think these pathways would be effective?

Clean diesel technology works great, but has been relatively unchanged in recent years. As such, it's hard to keep clean diesel in the news due to the lack of technological progress.

2) In addition to your attempts to get the media to write about and cover clean diesel news, how would you get people on social media to share interesting content about clean diesel?

- Your plan should be low-cost. We're thinking of viral sharing and guerrilla marketing, not a massive advertising push.

- The solution should be implementable in the next year.

    Submissions will be graded on the following criteria:
  • Meets Deliverables
  • Creativity
  • Clarity
Reward Tiers
5 Winners
will receive $150 each
5 Honorable Mentions
will receive $50 each
Leaderboard
$150.00 Alexander Henderson James Madison University
$150.00 Patrick Flinn University of California at San Diego
$150.00 Nicholas Bailey Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
$150.00 Cory Mathis Palm Beach State College
$150.00 Masoud Jalali University of California at San Diego
$50.00 HARIN KUMAR Wright State University
$50.00 Khaliun Munkh-Ochir University of Massachusettes, Boston
$50.00 Sean Rogers University of Central Florida
$50.00 Engelbert Gani The University of Oklahoma
$50.00 Tucker McClary Saint Mary's College of California
Submission questions


0 characters Average: 1677 characters
Your solution must be at least 200 characters long
Contact Us